Support us by forwarding this newsletter to your friends. Thanks!

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

Merry Christmas,

Blanket Angels!

Your recurring donation ~ giving love, giving purpose

..... EVERY MONTH!

This winter, we encourage you to become a monthly donor to support our on-going efforts, giving love to children and older youth living in foster care in every season.

Just $20/month provides handmade blankets for 12 children this year, giving purpose to individuals in senior living (memory care/nursing home) communities and adult day care facilities!

DONATE

Thanksgiving Together for chosen family

Scarlett, Tatyana and Cindy enjoying their new blankets.

Each year, blankets made by our Blanket Angels are gifted to current and former foster care teens and young adults in Ohio at Thanksgiving Together gatherings hosted by FosterActionOhio. 

A few days after the most recent dinners, we were touched to receive this note from Tatyana, who attended with her daughter, Scarlett, and her friend, Cindy. 

Today at the southwestern Thanksgiving event in Cincinnati, we received blankets as former foster youth. They were nice enough to let my daughter have her own, which now she has to have in each room she enters.

Cindy, myself, and my daughter, Scarlett, are in love with the quilts....My daughter will grow up with her quilt and hopefully give it to her child one day…. As former foster youth, Cindy and I never really were able to call something our own. Having a blanket, a quilt—this would’ve made me feel safe when my world was just the opposite.

Even though we are adults, now we have some thing where we can feel safe, knowing we can take it every place we go moving forward.

Thank you so much for having these quilts at our event today! Special shout out to Kay, Debbie and Melanie—we have their blankets!

Read more about the Thanksgiving Together dinners and see event photos

Marrill Raymond “Ray” Swartz, 85, of Delaware, Ohio, passed away peacefully on November 22, 2023 at his residence surrounded by his loving family.

Ray and his wife Kay faithfully supported us with their work for many years. First, years ago, they provided the volunteer opportunity to Ray’s mother, Martha Swartz, bringing her to the Blanket Workshop every week and picking up supplies for her to work on at home. They also transported materials back and forth to the women at the Dayton Correctional Institution.  

Ray shared his talents in woodworking to make "ironing board covers,” a quilters/sewers dream, by adapting a typical ironing board with a large work surface for ironing!  

In recent years, we would see them both every week as they picked up materials to cut our special tags and blankets that needed a few fixes and a little extra “tender, love of Ray & Kay”! ❤️

We miss Ray’s presence among us and are happy to see Kay each week when she stops by the workshop to pick up fleece blankets that need some TLC.

Pick an ornament from the Giving Tree

There are plenty of beautiful ornaments for you on our Giving Tree!

You are invited to help MVOB by providing much-needed items used in the workshop. Choose one or more items from this list.. Highlighted items are most needed. Bring your donation to the workshop weekdays between 9 am and Noon, and choose an ornament from the Tree.

If you choose to make a monetary donation, we will select an ornament and mail it to you. Celebrate this holiday season with a little giving. Thank you.

Sewers and folders needed

Can you use a sewing machine? Have a few hours to volunteer? We have an urgent need between now and mid-January for volunteers to sew tags on fleece for kits to fill some large orders.

We also need people to fold the blankets after the labels are attached. It’s a simple but very useful task. M - F, 9 am – Noon, in our workshop at 407 W. Main Street in Westerville. Volunteer whatever hours work for you. Questions? Ready to sign up? Contact Jess at jess.mcgraw@myveryownblanket.org.